I recently visited with Internationally recognized SEO expert and best-selling author, Stephan Spencer. Spencer wrote Google Power Search, and co-authored Social eCommerce and The Art of SEO.The Art of SEO, now in it’s 3rd edition and weighing in at nearly 1,000 pages is considered the bible of Search Engine Optimization. The book has received high praise from the likes of Seth Godin, Tony Hsieh, and Danny Sullivan, and is even used as a textbook at universities.

I had a lot of questions about the difference between on-page and off-page SEO in today’s search engine algorithms and traffic, so I was super interested in speaking to Spencer, a true industry giant, for some better understanding and clarification.

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are emerging technologies that are steadily heading towards the mainstream and into consumer minds and homes. Perhaps the best indication that these technologies are not a ‘geeky niche’ came from Apple CEO.

While VR is ahead in terms of interest levels and the adoption curve because of its success in games and other forms of entertainment, AR is not far behind. In fact, AR is slated to overtake VR very soon.

Michael Cavna: "Disney is thinking so far beyond sequels — first with its Marvel Cinematic Universe, next with its Star Wars galaxies — that it is now fully, successfully engaging viewers across interlocking narratives. Each time a film like “Civil War” can land with audiences — building upon and/or introducing a dozen key characters — the universe can move not just linearly, but also multilaterally."

The on demand economy is defined as “the economic activity created by digital marketplaces that fulfill consumer demand via immediate access to and convenient provisioning of goods and services.” says The On Demand Economy website. “The On-Demand Economy is …dedicated to the advancement of the commerce-based solutions that make day to day life simpler and more efficient.”

Customer experiences and expectations are different in this online mobile first economy. Mobile apps are now one of the most common means for consumers to search for, learn about, and even purchase products. By 2017, it’s estimated that users will have downloaded over 268 billion apps.

1-800-FLOWERS.COM will offer customers the ease and convenience of ordering floral gifts through Messenger. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM will blend its bot and live customer service support on Messenger to serve as "gift concierges" and answer questions, make gifting suggestions, process orders, send shipping updates and provide an array of other important information such as gift reminders."

Tom George's insight:

A very interesting development. If Facebook achieves its mission with bots, it could disrupt the mobile app market. Just look at everything 1800 flowers is allowing their customers to do from within Facebook Messenger with their BOT!

'The year of...' is a much-derided term among many in the digital industry. But statistics published recently by enterprise software giant Adobe indicate 2016 will be the year wearables become a mainstream concern for marketers, as over half of all smartphone owners have already used a household device connected to the internet.

Adobe Digital Index (ADI) Digital Trends Report examines the development of the Internet of Things (IoT) and consumer attitudes towards 'wearables', such as the Apple iWatch, and the knock-on effect on how users will access the internet.

The report claims 51 per cent of existing smartphone owners have already interacted with a home-based IoT device - such as a thermostat that can be controlled via a smartphone app.

Adobe also examined user sentiment towards such trends by analysing attitudes expressed in over 20 billion social media interactions, finding that 33 per cent of those analysed had used a digital personal assistant service, such as Apple's Siri, in the last 30 days. ...

Dr. David Feifel, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, is also a recipient. He said Mr. Shkreli contacted him out of the blue two years ago and later donated $100,000 to help with his research on new treatments for depression. “He’s more complex than the cartoon character,” Dr. Feifel said.

Tom George's insight:

Don't be a Shkreli! I had never heard the name before, not certain I am pronouncing it right. I certainly have heard of him now. This is also just paragraph after paragraph of excellent writing.

I was still trying to wrap my brain around this statement from the article.

Mr. Shkreli could do this because in the United States, unlike many other countries, there are no drug price controls.

I am thinking how is this good for Americans. The fact that pharmaceutical companies can charge basically whatever they want for these lifesaving drugs.

There are many lessons to be learned here. Like who is Mr. Shkreli? I bet he is brilliant, ruthless, cunning, and deceptive. For a smart guy like him, this is probably a part of day to day life.

He will certainly make his mark on this world. The only question is, what will that mark be?

You give away data every time you log into social media, swipe a credit card, go to the doctor, or post a picture online. Your health and fitness wearable and your phone are constantly sharing information about where you are and what you are doing. It’s all about convenience, but you are generating what is called Big Data. All of it is being filed away, probably in several places, and it may not be as private and protected as you think it is.

Your Fitness Data

Tracking fitness and diet is not a new trend, but having technology do it for you is. It is a great way to keep track of how much activity you are engaging in during the day, what your resting heart rate is, and technology can even remind you to get up and move if you are sitting at your desk for too long.

“Mobility has been ubiquitous as more and more enterprises are spending on application development today.”

A new Gartner survey showed that the enterprises have started giving the Mobile Application Development (MAD) as their top priority and revealed,

“36% of the enterprises are expected to increase their budget for app development. Also, 44%% of responders signaled that their app portfolio is internally developed. Cloud technologies like PaaS were seen as important by 75%.”

Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann being interviewed by Andreessen Horowitz partner Chris Dixon at South by Southwest.

Alyson Shontell: It took a while for people to first learn about Pinterest. Then it was all the media could talk about. Now the media hype cycle has cooled down again. What's the roller coaster ride been like?

Tom George's insight:

An interesting interview and chat with CEO of Pinterest Ben Silbermann.

In a study by the Fournaise Group, 80% of CEOs admitted being disappointed with their firms’ CMOs. That’s 4 out of 5 CEOs who think that that their marketers – and marketing – aren’t up to snuff. To investigate this (and more), I conducted research, in collaboration with CMO.com, to better understand the role and impact of CMOs. Last year’s CMO Impact study investigated whether and when CMOs matter; this year’s study focuses on how the CEO impacts the CMO’s (and marketing’s) ability to drive business results (click here to download the infographic).

While the full report is only available to those CMOs who take the survey (click here for the executive summary), some highlights are available below. The analysis is based on a total of 564 respondents, 223 of whom are CMOs (i.e., the head of marketing for their firms, regardless of title). The survey was conducted throughout the winter of 2014/2015. To analyze the data, we identified the best (and worst) firms at marketing (i.e., marketing capability) and looked at attributes that were significantly different across the top and bottom performers. Below are some highlights.

6 Signs that Your CEO is Taking Marketing Seriously

1. The CEO includes CMOs in Almost All Company-Level Strategy Meetings: Those CEOs who include marketers in top-level strategy discussions have significantly better marketing performance. Why does marketing capability matter? In our research, the firms that are the best at marketing (i.e., top marketers) have nearly 2/3 higher market share than the bottom performing firms.

Tom George's insight:

An amazing in depth study of how CEO's view their companies marketing. What do you think. Are you a CEO at a company that can weigh in on the discussion.

IBM’s Watson platform has another new side project: making holiday gift predictions. The company is releasing a new iPhone app called IBM Watson Trend, which they claim can predict which gifts are most likely to sell out at stores and e-commerce sites. While aimed at helping consumers, the app also shows the investment IBM has been putting into expanding Watson into the business world.

The app shows "trending" gifts in three categories—toys, consumer electronics, and health and fitness—alongside explanatory information about why those particular objects are trending. This includes analysis of hot purchases such as Lego City and the Nikon D-SLR, as well as products like Mattel's "Hello Barbie", which are declining in popularity (IBM says that, although popular with parents, children feel the interactive doll has an outdated style)....

4. Context is More Important than Content “If I’m not listening,” Tullman said, “it doesn’t matter what you say.” Context trumps content on the web, where consistency is more valuable and trustworthy to individuals. This “smart reach” is customized for individuals at the right time, the right place, and the right message. It helps consumers answer the questions: What do I need? When do I need it? Where can I be to benefit from it? ContextMedia is one business that understands the value of context. They specialize in advertisements and marketing materials for patients in doctor offices and waiting rooms, where the time, place, and type of messaging all makes sense.

Tom George's insight:

10 really good creative trends to watch for in 2016. I like number 4. Context is more important than content. "If I am not listening, it doesn't matter what you say. So true.

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